How the Prince Makes Friends Chapter 18

Nihil glared at Evan before continuing.

“Anyway, I used polite speech. I was worried that the things the child learned from me might become an obstacle when they eventually became independent.”

“You really did use proper honorifics?”

Evan narrowed his eyes, still unconvinced, as he scrutinized Nihil. Apparently, he simply couldn’t imagine the wildcat consistently speaking politely.

Nihil seemed to be debating whether to throw his fork at Evan for questioning him yet again. However, after glancing at Rianus, he quietly set the fork down.

“…Yeah. But only in front of that child. I was so careful about using polite speech that eventually it became a habit. Just looking at the child was enough to make polite words come out of my mouth. Ah, but…”

Nihil had been explaining himself with a slight frown at Evan’s interruptions when he suddenly seemed to remember something and began chuckling.

Rianus and Evan blinked at the sight of Nihil laughing as though he were genuinely enjoying himself.

Rianus thought, So he can laugh like that, too.

He resolved to make his friend smile that beautifully again someday.

“But what?”

Curious about the rest of the story that had made Nihil laugh, Evan stopped eating his sandwich and urged him to continue.

Nihil chuckled a little longer, then caught his breath and spoke again.

“That child was pretty cunning, too. In the end, they copied my way of speaking exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

“They always spoke politely to me, but used casual speech with everyone else.”

“……”

“They were so well-behaved in front of me that I never suspected a thing.”

Evan’s mouth fell open.

That child sounded just as cunning as the wildcat—or perhaps even worse.

“Where is that child now?”

Rianus asked without thinking, but the moment the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake. If such a young child wasn’t with Nihil now, something must have happened.

His guess seemed to be correct. The gentle smile that had lingered on Nihil’s face disappeared, leaving him expressionless once again.

It was the same blank expression he usually wore, but after seeing him smile just moments ago, the sudden emptiness made him look unbearably lonely.

“Who knows? Maybe they’re dead…”

“……”

“Even if they’re alive, they’ve probably forgotten me. It’s been… a very long time.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Rianus lowered his head. He felt awful, as though he had been the one to wipe the smile off his friend’s face.

“You don’t need to apologize. The point is, after circumstances forced us apart, I stopped using polite speech. I’ll probably get over it with a little more time, but I don’t particularly want to use honorifics right now, so I hope you understand. I really cared about that kid. If they’re still alive, I’d like to see them again.”

“…If you ever meet them, what would you want to do?”

“Who knows? They probably wouldn’t recognize me even if we met again… Hmm. Maybe I’d sing them a lullaby.”

“A lullaby…?”

“They really liked it.”

“I… see.”

“Which reminds me, your knight seems to be trying to change the way I speak. Tell him to give up while he still can.”

“…All right.”

Evan answered immediately, without needing Rianus to pass along the message.

So that was why Nihil had said he raised the child instead of simply looking after them. He hadn’t merely cared for a younger sibling who was a year or two younger than himself. He must have raised a baby who could barely even talk, growing attached to them along the way.

If the child had only just begun speaking, it was natural that they would imitate their guardian’s way of talking. And babies tended to get sick frequently.

Infants required an enormous amount of care, which also explained why Nihil had been so skilled at nursing the ailing prince.

If he had looked after a sick baby while living a wandering life, sung lullabies to them, and even changed his own speech for the sake of the child’s future, then he must truly have cherished them.

Evan had never imagined that there was such a story behind Nihil’s insolent manner of speaking. Reflecting on how he had teased the boy in the past, he rose from his seat and returned to his position as Rianus’s escort knight.

He had finished his own sandwich, so he couldn’t very well continue sitting beside the prince without reason and impose on him.

Just as the atmosphere in the dining room began to grow a little subdued, Nihil spoke again, changing the subject.

“Anyway, about the queen, Rian.”

“Oh, don’t worry about her! I’ll stop her no matter what it takes!”

“Hmmm…”

Rianus thumped his chest, insisting that Nihil could rely on him. He hadn’t come up with any excuses yet, but he wanted to protect his friend somehow, no matter what. The queen was still frightening to him, but she must be even more frightening to his friend.

Nihil, however, saw things differently.

He understood that Rianus wanted to protect him, but the moment Rianus took in a commoner child as his friend, he had already entered an uphill battle. Nihil’s very existence had become a liability for Rianus.

If that commoner child continued hiding behind the prince and refused to show himself, people’s curiosity would only intensify.

And if rumors spread that the prince was even going out of his way to protect a commoner, Rianus would have to bear the full brunt of the consequences alone.

It would be dangerous enough if his opponent were merely an aristocrat, but the queen? This wasn’t even a meeting he could avoid.

Nihil’s hand stopped as he was about to cut another piece of meat. His white eyelashes descended gently over his black opal eyes.

As the atmosphere fell silent, Rianus and Evan naturally turned their attention toward him.

His white hair slid softly forward as he lowered his head slightly. The fork in his hand tapped against his closed red lips at a slow, steady rhythm.

It was such a small, insignificant gesture, yet it drew every gaze toward him. If the servants hadn’t been dismissed, every single one of them would undoubtedly have been staring at Nihil, too.

Rianus didn’t resist the instinct. He simply watched his friend.

A long silence passed, but neither Rianus nor Evan made any attempt to break it.

Nihil slowly raised his head.

His eyes, resembling the night sky, appeared once more. The faint smile that had disappeared also returned to his lips. It was a warm, soothing smile, as though he were comforting a child, and it gave the illusion that he would grant any wish.

Under that gentle, reassuring gaze, Rianus found himself smiling bashfully without even realizing it.

“Rian.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t worry.”

“Okay.”

“Everything will be fine.”

“Okay.”

Rianus didn’t ask why, how, or what Nihil intended to do. He simply nodded, murmuring, “Okay,” over and over.

Just seeing that smile return to his friend’s usually expressionless face made him feel as though everything would somehow turn out all right.

But the touching moment didn’t last long. Nihil suddenly said something Rianus hadn’t expected at all.

“Right, finish your food. I’ll give you the antidote.”

“…Huh?”

“I forgot.”

“…W-what?”

Every thought in Rianus’s head came to an abrupt halt.

What antidote…?

He frantically racked his brain, trying to figure out what antidote Nihil was talking about.

Then he remembered the horrifying taste of something he had swallowed around lunchtime. It had been bitter, astringent, and sour, only for another wave of bitterness to hit him afterward.

It had been so disgusting that he had almost spat it out without thinking.

If Nihil hadn’t covered his mouth to stop him, he definitely would have spat it out.

Was it really poison?

Rianus’s pupils trembled. The warm smile that had reassured him moments ago was nowhere to be seen. Nihil had returned to his usual expressionless face.

“I-I didn’t have any symptoms at all.”

“That’s because I kept your body warm the whole time.”

“W-Was it really poison…?”

“If you’re curious, try going outside wearing something light.”

“……”

“But don’t blame me. I prepared the antidote properly.”

“……”

“If you want to go outside just to check, tell me first. I’ll have to prepare a stronger antidote. I don’t want you to die, so I’ll make sure you survive somehow. But I can’t guarantee anything, so I recommend that you just obediently take the medicine.”

“Waaah…”

Rianus drooped at the thought of having to take the medicine again. The tension that had built up while discussing the queen had completely vanished.

Behind Rianus, Evan began trembling as he struggled to contain his laughter. He took another step backward, afraid that Rianus might catch sight of him.

Rianus was too busy looking at Nihil with tearful eyes, silently begging him to find another way, to think about turning around. Unfortunately for Evan, Nihil could see him perfectly well from across the table, doing his utmost to suppress his laughter.

Nihil remained expressionless, but Evan could read a terrifying message in his indifferent gaze.

If I catch you laughing, I’ll pour the medicine straight down your throat.

Meanwhile, Nihil noticed that Rianus was being picky with his food.

“Rian, you’re not being fussy about your food, are you?”

He wore an expression of concern as he subtly added, “If you don’t get a balanced intake of nutrients, the antidote might not work properly, and you may have to take it twice.”

Rianus absolutely did not want to take the antidote two more times. He practically jumped out of his seat, insisting that he wasn’t a picky eater at all, and conspicuously began chewing on the bell pepper he had set aside.

When he announced that he had finished eating, his voice was tinged with tears.

Evan felt himself falling apart.

What on earth am I supposed to do with this adorable, precious, utterly lovable little creature?!

By now, Evan had sunk all the way to the floor. He curled up tightly and clamped his large hands over his mouth, holding his breath for fear of being discovered.

He had absolutely no desire to take medicine so disgusting that it could force the prince to eat bell peppers he hated.

All he could do was pray that his innocent little kitten wouldn’t turn around.

Ah, I’m seriously going to lose my mind.

After dinner, in the bedroom.

Rianus was tearfully swallowing cold medicine disguised as an antidote, while Evan was still struggling to contain his laughter, when the butler arrived.

The elderly butler was startled to see his prince with tears welling in his eyes. But when he saw Nihil coaxing Rianus by slipping a piece of chocolate into his mouth, he smiled with satisfaction.

“Your Highness, did you enjoy your meal?”

“Mmmph.”

Rianus nodded as he gently soothed his poor, long-suffering tongue with chocolate.

The elderly butler smiled warmly and handed him a sheet of paper.

“Your Highness, here is the revised lesson schedule. The Duke of Thesaurus says he doesn’t have any free time, so the swordsmanship lessons will proceed without any changes.”

“The duke isn’t exactly someone with a lot of free time. There’s nothing we can do about it. Besides, he only volunteered to teach swordsmanship because of my older brother in the first place.”

Come to think of it, hadn’t he returned in tears from the gathering held at that very duke’s estate just yesterday?

He remembered how sad and miserable he had felt, but after meeting Nihil and spending such a hectic day with him, the whole thing already seemed like a distant memory.

Perhaps he should even be grateful for having attended the gathering, since that was how he had met Nihil.

“And the Prime Minister says that, because of the illegal auction incident that occurred recently, he cannot separate your lessons for the time being. However, if the matter is resolved smoothly, he promises to adjust the schedule as soon as possible.”

“The Prime Minister must be busy, too. I’m simply grateful that he’s willing to do that for me.”

Rianus nodded as he looked over the timetable.

“Good work, Butler. Now, you’re on vacation for a week, so don’t even think about working. Just get plenty of rest.”

Technically, the leave was only five days, but since the butler had no intention of resting anyway, he didn’t correct the prince. He simply smiled warmly before leaving the bedroom.

“Neil, I have swordsmanship lessons three mornings a week. You might get bored, but please wait for me here at the palace.”

“Okay.”

“The Prime Minister’s lessons on the art of kingship are twice a week, one hour each time. Once the illegal auction case is resolved, you’ll be able to attend those lessons with me, too!”

“…Mm-hmm…”

A look of pure reluctance began to creep into Nihil’s eyes.